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That man, damn Putin; Killer
of Moldovan Dream (sung to the tune of
RaRaRasputin-by Boney M)
Killing me softly, with his
ban (Roberta Flack… Killing
me softly with his song).
I can almost hear the wine producers in Moldova humming
the above two songs with frustration and angst. It has
been 5 months since Russia was due to lift the ban imposed
in March 2006 on wine imports from Moldova , an erstwhile
USSR State. With no exports to Russia and restricted
supplies when allowed, the wine industry is in deep
crisis.
Although Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin has signed
an agreement with Vladimir Putin to ensure the resumption
of sales to the Russian market, the Russian Ministry
of Agriculture has yet to confirm. It will be at least
another month or two until the first shipments can take
place.
The Russian ban on Moldovan wines dating to last March
on the supposed grounds of health concerns hit producers
hard. Their total imports were halved, to $173 million
in 2006. The Russian wine market was long dominated
by Moldovan wines, mainly in the entry level and medium
price brackets. Whether Moldova will be able to recover
lost ground remains to be seen.
It appears that all Moldovan wines and spirits will
now have to go through a single export window. According
to the Russian business daily Kommersant, the Russian
Ministry of Agriculture held a tender in April. Thereafter,
the federal public enterprise Soyuzplodimport appointed
an authorized importer of Moldovan wines and spirits
to Russia.
Russians are known for their stringent laws on import
of liquor and wines. During my various trips abroad
the Russian journalists and importers have always rued
the strange policies of their government
For instance, a new liquor legislation, introduced
last year, stipulates that the new excise stamps with
unique bar-codes must be used for all bottled alcohol
products sold within the country. The products with
the old stamps were only allowed for import into Russia
till April 1 and have to be sold in retail before July
1.
During many of our talks with Indian exporters, they
are extremely shy of taking part in any wine or liquor
export activity to Russia. I know of a case where the
Italian wine samples sent from Sardegna well on time
for a competition did not reach a month after the competition
was over and the wines for the wine show had actually
arrived, making the producer feel frustrated and furious.
Perhaps, Moldova is a victim of the dark red tape?!
Russia may be the emerging market but their policies
are not going to be help to any wine producing nation,
the growing size of the market notwithstanding
Subhash Arora
June 22, 2007
Source: http://www.decanter.com
For an earlier article, click http://www.indianwineacademy.com
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